The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down (Psalm 145:14 NIV).
One of the difficult things in life is to see life move on as usual for others when our spirits are crushed within us. We hope that someone would stop by to ask how we are doing. … Read the rest
But ten of them said to Ishmael , “Don’t kill us! We have wheat and barley, oil and honey, hidden in a field.” So he let them alone and did not kill them with the others (Jeremiah 41:8 NIV).
This incident happened soon after the Babylonian army had plundered Jerusalem. They left the city in … Read the rest
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know (Jeremiah 33:3 NIV).
This message came to Prophet Jeremiah while he was still imprisoned. This came in response to his earlier prayer. God was speaking to him the second time.
Surely this message was important. It … Read the rest
I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil(Psalm 119:162 NIV).
We often rejoice during occasions of celebrations; but such occasions do not last forever.
We often rejoice during moments of achievements; but we cannot rest on our victories for long.
We often rejoice when we get new and expensive things; but the … Read the rest
As you have been an object of cursing among the nations, O Judah and Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong (Zechariah 8:13 NIV).
Are you mourning today? Is it because your life has turned into a curse? Are people … Read the rest
The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world” (Zechariah 6:5 NIV).
God has tasks that He assigns His servants from time to time as He sees fit. The success of these missions depends on a lot of factors … Read the rest
So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table (2 Kings 25:29 NIV).
This king of Judah who was carried into exile was thirty seven years in prison. He was eighteen years old when he surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
He had spent … Read the rest
This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: a basket of ripe fruit (Amos 8:1 NIV).
Ease and comfort are dangerous beds for a Christian to sleep on. For often they breed sin. It was just like this for the nation of Israel. They were lounging in their security and indulging in sin.
But what … Read the rest
Her filthiness clung to her skirts; she did not consider her future. Her fall was astounding; there was none to comfort her (Lamentations 1:9a NIV).
Prophet Jeremiah is mourning over the total destruction of Jerusalem. Among many other things he finds one sure reason why this most favored city of God was destroyed–“she did not … Read the rest
But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded (2 Chronicles 15:7 NIV).
There is no man of God who has not experienced discouragement in his work. It sometimes comes in unexpectedly. It plunges a man into the valley of despair and doubt as no other thing … Read the rest
Like a horse in open country, they did not stumble; like cattle that go down to the plain, they were given rest by the Spirit of the Lord (Isaiah 63:13b, 14a NIV).
This passage is a clear reference to the deliverance that God gave the Israelites through the hand of Moses from the Egyptian army … Read the rest
Who despises the day of small things (Zechariah 4:10a NIV)?
God begins all His great works from small things. In this passage people were asked not to despise the day of small things. This is because it is part of human nature to look down upon small beginnings.
People are generally impressed only by the … Read the rest
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare (Isaiah 55:2 NIV).
In these lines you are called to listen carefully. If you will do so you will be … Read the rest
Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you (Genesis 13:17 NIV).
Go! Do not keep on looking at what God has given you. Now you have got to move. But you will say, “Lord, let me enjoy the scenic beauty for some more time.” This hesitancy … Read the rest
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23,24 NIV).
Can you pray this prayer with an honest and earnest heart? If you can do so you can be assured that … Read the rest
Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice (2 Samuel 1:20 NIV).
Here we are in the beginning of the lament which David composed concerning Saul and Jonathan when he had heard of their death … Read the rest
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, ‘Destroy him!’ (Deuteronomy 33:27 NIV).
These words are part of the concluding verses of Moses’ farewell blessing to the tribes of Israel. Here he points out the fact that the eternal God is their … Read the rest
Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning (Hosea 8:11 NIV).
God is here giving us a solemn warning. It points out great pretensions that can happen in our spiritual life. God had given the Israelite people the ability to build a temple for His name. They were asked … Read the rest
The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules (Daniel 4:26 NIV).
King Nebuchadnezzar is the “stump of the tree” referred to here. He was a great king who enjoyed great glory and splendor. He once had … Read the rest
The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Then Samuel said, ‘Speak for your servant is listening'(1 Samuel 3:10 NIV).
This chapter opens with a very important statement. It tells us that during the times described here “the word of the Lord was rare.” And it is also added … Read the rest
Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you”(Hosea 10:12 NIV).
There is a description about the sins of Israel given in this passage. Yet in the midst of it there is … Read the rest
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland (Isaiah 43:18,19 NIV).
Here is God’s blueprint for our lives. He is telling us the secret … Read the rest
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me” (Psalm 66:18,19,20 NIV)!
The psalmist is here calling people to come and listen to … Read the rest
Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land (Ecclesiastes 11:1 NIV).
What the writer is advocating is really surprising! He is asking us to throw our bread upon the … Read the rest
In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go (Deuteronomy 1:32,33 NIV).
The Israelites are now … Read the rest
… Read the restMen cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful. But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night, who teaches more to us than to the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’
I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten–the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm–my great army that I sent among you (Joel 2:25 NIV).
Prophet Joel describes a great invasion on the land of Judah by an army of locusts. Their devastation was thorough and … Read the rest
Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. And having sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offering, he stepped down (Leviticus 9:22 NIV).
Aaron and his sons were ordained as priests to serve before the Lord. They were anointed with oil and also sprinkled by the blood of … Read the rest
A curse on him who is lax in doing the Lord’s work! A curse on him who keeps his sword from bloodshed! (Jeremiah 48:10 NIV).
The context here is God’s command of the destruction of the Moabites. That is why there is mention of bloodshed. The command is so important that God has put a … Read the rest
When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined (Genesis 39:19,20 NIV).
Resisting temptation does not automatically bring praise or rewards to you. In fact, … Read the rest
